The Tragic Background to the Prophecies Surrounding Jesus’ Birth

In the long centuries since Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem, a great nostalgic myth has arisen around His birth. Artists and songwriters have softened the circumstances of His arrival, presenting Bethlehem as still and silent, His delivery suite filled with cattle softly lowing, and stars circling silently overhead.

It is a scene befitting a baby’s birth, with solemnity suitable for a king’s nativity.

But those are not the circumstances foretold in Bible prophecy. The great passages heralding Christ’s human entry into the world tell a different story, and one that has particular relevance to us today.

Isaiah’s Vision

Isaiah, the son of Amoz, prophesied concerning Judah and Jerusalem during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah—all kings in Judah. Through His prophet, God’s message initially focused on the waywardness of the people of Judah and Israel: “Come now, and let us reason together,” says Yahweh. “Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool” (Isaiah 1:18).

The means of that restoration were not explicitly spelled out in Isaiah’s urgent call to repent. But simultaneous to that admonition was a promise that Judah and Jerusalem would be raised up, with Zion (“the mountain of the house of the LORD”) established as the chief of the mountains and focus of the nations’ pursuit of the Lord.

Early in Isaiah’s ministry, during the year of King Uzziah’s death, he was ushered into the throne room of God and given a holy commission. Despite his own sin and his origin among a people of unclean lips, Isaiah’s iniquity was taken away and his sin was forgiven. He was charged to “Go, and tell this people…”

Isaiah prophesied great suffering as cities and houses—and the Land itself—would be rendered utterly desolate. Mixed in with that devastating pronouncement was another promise of great hope—leading to the fulfillment of the previous guarantee that sins would be forgiven. But like the birth pangs that precede a baby’s arrival, that promise would be born out of great suffering for mankind—and far greater suffering for the Lord God Himself.

Hope in the Midst of War

In the days of Ahaz, son of Jotham, the kings of Aram and Remaliah rose up against Jerusalem. They lay siege to the city—one in a long series of wars that wrought destruction on Jerusalem (as they have continued to do through the modern era). Ahaz, who “did not do what was right in the sight of the LORD his God, as his father David had done” (2 Kings 16:2), was clearly given the option to choose to walk by faith. The word of the Lord to him was, “If you will not believe, you surely shall not last” (Isaiah 7:9).

God promised Ahaz that the city would be delivered and the besiegers punished, He even invited Ahaz to ask for a sign (even one as “deep as Sheol or high as heaven”) to affirm His promise. Taken at face value, Ahaz’ response seems to convey reverence for the Lord and faith in His promises. The king said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the LORD!” (Isaiah 7:12).

Yet God saw through the words and discerned the condition of Ahaz’ heart. Speaking again through His prophet, He responded, “Listen now, O house of David! Is it too slight a thing for you to try the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my God as well?”

Isaiah then revealed the promise that would find fulfillment in the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem: “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). The Messianic prophecy was given in the midst of war to a king who did not really believe the Word of the Lord—in the short or long term.

Scoffers try to imply that the word translated as “virgin” merely means “maiden,” implying that the birth of this promised son could be fulfilled through non-miraculous means. They sometimes point to the son born to Isaiah and his prophetess wife in Chapter 8—before the kings of Damascus and Samaria were defeated and carried away—as the completion of the promise to Ahaz. But Isaiah’s son was named “Maher-shalal-hash-baz” (Swift is the booty, speedy is the prey), not Immanuel. The prophesied virgin’s son would not appear for almost 700 years.

Isaiah’s Other Messianic Prophecies

Isaiah revealed much more about the Messiah and the circumstances surrounding His arrival. He spoke of the grace God would pour out on the land of Zebulun and Naphtali. Although people in that territory were steeped in gloom and treated with contempt, the Coming One would make that region glorious once again (Isaiah 9:1). The prophecy even offered hope to Gentiles, as the promised light would shine on them as well.

Indeed, as Isaiah prophesied, the Light of the World would first reveal Himself in the area around Galilee: “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them” (Isaiah 9:2, NASB). Isaiah’s Messianic revelations were woven throughout his great book of prophecy, but he would continue to paint a picture of the scene into which the Messiah would emerge:

• He grew up… like a root out of parched ground
• He was despised and forsaken
• A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief
• He was like one from whom men hide their face
• He was despised, and we did not esteem Him
• He was oppressed and afflicted
• He was cut off from of the land of the living

All those phrases from Isaiah 53 speak of the Suffering Servant. They document far in advance the condition of the world—and the world’s response to Him—when the Messiah would arrive.

The little town of Bethlehem may have been still and silent the night Jesus was born, but the world was a seething caldron, full of more fear than hope that night.

The Biblical Account of His Birth

Luke records an angelic visitation to a real and literal virgin named Mary. Not merely a young maiden about to conceive her firstborn, Mary fully understood the physical impossibility of the promise given to her: “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34).

Her question did not spring from a heart full of disbelief, but rather from perplexity over the means of such an unprecedented miracle taking place. Gabriel answered and told her that she would be overshadowed by the power of the Holy Spirit, and that her Son would be called “the Son of God.”

The implications of such a revelation are overwhelming. Mary could have expected to endure ridicule and the condemnation of her family and society upon being found pregnant before consummating her marriage with Joseph. Yet, she simply said to Gabriel, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done according to your word” (Luke 1:38). Mary’s response reveals her humility and submission to the will of God.

Mary would be singly honored in human history, which is why Elizabeth would later exclaim, “Blessed are you among women.” We are left to ponder the reception Mary experienced when she returned home to Nazareth after three months. Matthew tells us that Joseph was understandably troubled about his betrothed’s condition, until an angel of the Lord revealed the miraculous nature of Mary’s pregnancy.

The subsequent details surrounding Jesus’ birth are described very succinctly in Luke 2. Caesar Augustus ruled from Rome. Quirinius governed from Syria. Joseph and Mary traveled to Judea to register for a census according to Roman decree. (Under the omniscience of God, even tax policies can be leveraged to fulfill His prophetic Word.) Mary went into labor and gave birth while they were in Bethlehem, laying Jesus in a feed trough because there was no room for them in the Inn. The only human celebrants to the holy birth were some shepherds rounded up from the surrounding fields by angels heralding the glorious moment.

Matthew describes other aspects of the political dynamics at play. When the Magi later arrived from the East, they first came to Jerusalem. King Herod was troubled by their inquiries, along with all Jerusalem. The paranoid king had proven a deadly adversary to any perceived threat to his power (including his own wife and sons). And, although the Jewish religious leaders were familiar with the prophecies concerning Bethlehem, they did not bother to accompany the Wise Men the few miles to go and see for themselves—let alone worship the newborn King.

Following the visit of the Wise Men, Bethlehem experienced the fulfillment of another tragic prophecy cited by Matthew. In his rage, Herod ordered the slaughter of all the male children in the vicinity of the little town. The murder that Pharoah had been unable to accomplish in Egypt was exacted upon the little boys of Bethlehem, bringing about the “weeping and great mourning” Jeremiah prophesied many years before.

Jesus’ very arrival into the world led to sorrow and acquainted Him with grief.

Nothing Has Changed

Why revisit the tragic background to the prophecies surrounding Jesus’ birth, and the conflicted details of His birth? Certainly, His appearance in the world represents the hinge-point of human history—so much so that we date time in terms of BC and AD (Before Christ and Anno Domini). And even though the estimated year of his actual birth is now known to be off a bit, we still speak of 2024 as “the year of our Lord.”

But knowing that Isaiah was given his revelations in the midst of war, that other prophets foretold details about the Messiah while Israel was still straying from the Lord, that Jesus was born in a fraught moment in human history, and that the city of His birth would see further bloodshed and grief, the nature of the Messiah’s First Advent testifies that Light always overcomes darkness.

This gives us hope and encouragement as we continue to live in this dark and troubled age. The world is still wracked by war. People and nations are still straying far from Him and bloodshed and grief still plague mankind. In short, Satan still rages, and moments of stillness and hope seem few and far between. Scripture reveals that darkness will deepen once again before the glory of Christ’s Second Coming illuminates the world. Foreshadows of that Blessed Hope are contained within the prophecies of His First Advent.

Already, But Not Yet

There is something telling in Isaiah’s word to Ahaz, Gabriel’s word to Mary, and God’s still-to-be-fulfilled promises to us. The validation of the promises will be their absolute fulfillment. This is reminiscent of God’s call to Moses to lead His people out of bondage in Egypt. The LORD promised, “I will be with you” (a premonition of the Name to be given to the Messiah: Immanuel). Then He said, “and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain” (Exodus 3:12). I AM had spoken; Moses could either obey or disobey. But the proof of His calling would only be revealed after he had obeyed and seen the hand of the Lord at work.

Isaiah provided other promises surrounding the Messiah. Isaiah 9:4-5 describes the blessing that will flow from the Messiah’s arrival. He accurately portrayed the oppression and degradation that mankind was experiencing prior to the First Advent (the “yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, the rod of their taskmaster,” the “boot of the warrior,” and the “cloak rolled in blood”). Contrast those phrases with his description of the promised Savior’s reign:

For a child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace. On the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this. (Isaiah 9:6-7)

Reviewing the promises contained within those three verses, we see that some have been fulfilled while others have yet to be fulfilled:

• Child born to us – FULFILLED
• Son given to us – FULFILLED
• Government on His shoulders (meaning absolute authority and affirmed by Jesus in Matthew 28:18—“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth”) – FULFILLED, although He is not yet exercising His reign on the earth (as affirmed in 2 Corinthians 4:4 and Ephesians 2:2)
• Known as Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace – Yes, Yes, Yes, and Yes; FULFILLED
• No end to the increase of His government or of peace – NOT YET
• Reigning on the throne of David and over His kingdom – NOT YET
• Establishing and upholding justice and righteousness – NOT YET

We can trust that the Second Coming will fulfill the rest of Isaiah’s Messianic prophecy and usher in Christ’s Millennial Kingdom. And those with eyes to see can discern that the Signs of the Times are indicating the imminence of that glorious event. The oppressive conditions described in Isaiah 9:2-5 are rising again as the world accelerates toward the Tribulation.

But instead of embracing the Light that has come into the world (and will soon burst forth again), Jesus said that most people will love the darkness rather than the Light, “for their deeds are evil” (John 3:19).

Turn to the Light

Given the continuing—and increasing—darkness in the world, some doubt the power of Christ. They refuse to accept that He has pierced the darkness and offers everlasting Light. Or they simply “hate the Light, and [will] not come to the Light, for fear that [their] deeds will be exposed” (John 3:20).

Satan still ensnares people by planting seeds of doubt and disbelief. He still asks, “Did God really say?…” He boldly asserts lies that contradict the Word of God and the promises of God. For instance, even today Satan has convinced many in the world that the Land of Israel does not belong to the Jews, that God’s chosen people are the source of malevolence instead of a God-ordained conduit of blessing. He induces many people to insist that they have no room—and no need—for Christ in their own heart.

The good news of Christmas is that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (Paul’s trustworthy statement and testimony from 1 Timothy 1:15). As the angels announced in the skies over Bethlehem, His everlasting peace is granted to those with whom He is pleased. How can we please God? By obeying Him and trusting in His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31).

If you are walking in darkness, invite Jesus in and let the Light of Christ illuminate your heart.

Promises Yet to Come

The promises pointing to His first coming were fulfilled exactly as they were foretold. We can trust that the Lord will fulfill every promise pointing to the Rapture of the Church and His Second Coming as well. Jesus said so three times in Revelation 22.

John records that the Spirit and the bride (the Church) say, “Come.” He says that the one who hears (accepts, believes, trusts) Bible prophecy will also say, “Come.” This Christmas, I hope your heart will lift up songs of praise to our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. Then I hope you will join me in lifting up a three-word prayer: “Come, Lord Jesus.”